Martin Luther King Letter from Birmingham Jail

Birmingham JailThe eight Alabama clergymen wrote a public statement to express their feelings about the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers. They felt the demonstrations he was leading were unnecessary and the racial issues in the city of Birmingham could be resolved through the citizens having a meeting. The clergymen thought Negros should be patient and “observe the principles of law and order and common sense” (Public Statement). The clergymen stated, “We further strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these demonstrations and to unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham” (Public Statement). This was their way of saying King was not welcome or needed in Birmingham. They seemed to believe in segregation and rights of black people, but they didn’t accept the ways of protest and demanding.

King writes a letter to the clergymen on 16 April, 1963 to defend his position in Birmingham. King retaliates on all points made by the clergymen and gives much in depth examples to defend his actions. He feels that without pressure there will be no change, definitely not soon enough. He proclaims, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” to defend his reason for coming to Birmingham (Letter). He told them he was invited on behalf of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King acknowledged that they had no right to speak of abiding laws; since the officials in Birmingham had made a promise to remove all racial signs in the city’s stores, but the ones that were taken down were eventually replaced and the decision made by the supreme court outlawing segregation in all public schools, is not being obeyed (Letter).

Kings journey began long before his trip to Birmingham. He gave a sermon on November 17, 1957 known as, “Loving Your Enemies.” King believed that we are all God’s children no matter our race and we should not have enemies or treat anyone different for any reason. He preached,...

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...MartinLutherKing Jr.’s Persuasion in “LetterFromBirminghamJail”
After being arrested and imprisoned in BirminghamJail, MartinLutherKing Jr. wrote one of his most famous works to the people of Birmingham, titled “LetterFromBirminghamJail on April 16, 1963. This piece speaks of the evils of the segregation laws and how the blacks had been treated unfairly in Birmingham, in an attempt to get the white people to support the desegregation of Birmingham. He had been imprisoned because of his participation in a civil disobedience protest, and he is arguing that, even though the white people of Birmingham see the black’s way of protesting as wrong, it is a justified way to fight back against the unjust laws. In “LetterFromBirminghamJail.” MartinLutherKing Jr. uses rhetorical strategies in order to convince the people of Birmingham that the segregation laws are unjust and that the people of Birmingham should support the African American’s acts of civil disobedience and their attempts to end segregation.
MartinLutherKing...

...MartinLutherKing wrote "A letterfromBirminghamjail" in response to a published statement by eight fellow ministers from Alabama who violently critiqued King for association and involvement in the protest march against discrimination in Birmingham. King's letter was an effort to defend himself from allegations and to criticize white moderates and church.
Starting in the first lines of the letter, MartinLutherKing tries to discard the denunciation of being an outsider in Birmingham. He states that he was invited to Birmingham and had organizational connections as the president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Furthermore, MartinLutherKing did not count himself to be an outsider due to the fact that all people who live within bounds of the United States of America could not be pronounced as outsiders.
In reference to allegations that the protests were precocious, MartinLutherKing states several reasons why this was a suitable time for direct action. Originally, discussions with Birmingham's economic public did not give correct results and suppliers did not remove mortifying racial signs from the stores....

...[Subject]
[Date]
MartinLutherking Jr., “LetterfromBirminghamJail”
Outline
1. Introduction
i) Argument about “Justice and injustice”
ii) Religious appeals in King’s latter
iii) Paragraph fourteen of King’s latter
2. Discussion
3. Conclusion
Introduction
The pressure of racial segregation was reaching a boiling point in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama. After being arrested for his part in the Birmingham Campaign, Dr. MartinLutherKing Jr. wrote an open letter in response to “A Call for Unity”, written by eight white clergymen fromBirmingham. King's "LetterfromBirminghamJail" is a true call for unity, as he clearly states and points out facts that the clergymen have omitted from their letter. King is clearly not looking to stoke the fire of segregation; he was merely looking to solve the situation at hand and trying to peacefully end racial segregation in the United States. “A Call for Unity”, written in early April 1963 (Jonathan, 12-18).
Discussion
After years of segregation and inequality, one man stood up and fought for what was right. This man spoke of dreams and for what he felt as morally right, ethically right,...

..."Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,"are the words of MartinLutherKing Jr. penned in a 1963 letter he wrote while incarcerated in a BirminghamJail during the height of grave racial tensions and segregation. King believed in a nonviolent approach to combatting racial inequalities and injustice and I too, support the approach he took.
MLK cites in his letter that his non-violent approach was more instinctive than anything else. He was from a line of preachers, people who embodied the church and believed in treating each other equally and taking the "christian approach." I could see myself using such an approach because as a young man growing up I was taught in church and by my parents to treat people equally, respectfully and to resolve issues in a non-violent manner-that's without fighting.
King also cited in his letter that during this racially charged period he served as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating In every southern state, with it's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the affiliates in Birmingham had asked King and his group to participate in a direct action program if it became necessary. That moment came and they engaged in demonstrations, marches, sit-ins and other civil disobedience. I can definitely...

...Dontay Phillips
10:45-12:10 TR
King Paper
LetterfromBirminghamJailMartinLutherKing Jr. wrote one of his most famous works while confined in a jail cell. He wrote this as a response to a statement written about him by eight Alabama clergymen. In the letterKing uses many methods to convey his message about things going on in Alabama. King mainly uses logos, pathos, and ethos to express his point in “LetterfromBirminghamJail.”
In the letterKing utilized the power of human emotion to explain to the clergymen the importance of his being in Birmingham for the demonstrations. Early in the letterKing stated “We were the victims of a broken promise”, quickly getting the clergymen to be empathetic to his disappointment. He explained how he had tried to negotiate without having to come to the demonstrations, but the businessmen had backed out of their agreement and surely the clergy must relate to his frustration about the broken promises. King continued, speaking more directly, when he said “In spite of my shattered dreams, I came to Birmingham with hopes that the white religious leadership of this community would see the justice of our cause and,...

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Letterfrom a BirminghamJail
Dr. MartinLutherKing Jr., a civil rights leader, was put into jail after being part of the Birmingham campaign in April 1963. He was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was asked by an Alabama group to come to Birmingham. He and members of his organization joined The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and organized non-violent protests against racial segregation. Because of these nonviolent protests, many of his followers were put into jail. Alabama clergymen published a announcement in the paper stating blacks should not support MartinLutherKing Jr. and the other protesters. While in jail, Dr. King replied with a letter directed towards these men and the rest of the community. MartinLutherKing Jr. argued for nonviolent protest with the use of ethos, logos, and pathos in his “Letterfrom a BirminghamJail”.
Ethos
MartinLutherKing Jr. is a very smart and reasonable man. He explained why he is in Birmingham and he compared himself to Apostle Paul and other prophets that wanted to bring freedom. He also...

...“LetterfromBirmingham City Jail” – KingMartinLuther King’s “LetterFromBirminghamJail” was written in response to a letter directed at him on April 12, 1963 by a group of clergymen. His response was composed under difficult circumstances, in a jail cell with limited paper. In fact, he began the composition of this address on the margins of a newspaper and small scraps of paper. He was thrown in jail for, in the words of the clergymen, participating in and leading “unwise and untimely” demonstrations in the city of Birmingham, Alabama during the civil rights movement. His lengthy response uses logical validity and rhetorical strategies to appeal to the people of the South and express his views on segregation and the direction it must take to promote equality among all people.
The “LetterFromBirminghamJail” was written on April 16, 1963, just four days after the eight clergymen addressed King in their letter. King was disappointed in the clergymen, whom he wished would be supportive of his cause. He thought these people of religion would see the unjust actions and lack of equality in the region. As he writes his response he bases his argument on the...

...﻿MartinLutherKingMartinLutherKing was an extremely inspirational individual, a humanitarian, civil rights activist in fact. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, helped CSLC in 1957, helped to organise the March on Washington 1963 in which he presented his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech gaining his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.
King, born son of Reverend MartinLutherKing Sr. spent most of his early life within church, singing amongst the choir in 1939. He attended Booker T. Washington High school, and then attended Morehouse College without officially graduating school. Then graduated from Crozer Theological Seminary with a Bachelor of Divinity degree 1951 furthermore, gaining his Doctor of Philosophy in 1955, achieving an intelligent and large amount of qualifications which, within the time zone, was extremely unusual as segregation was large within America, specifically, the Deep South.
King was one of many leaders yet, what made King so highly respected and celebrated was his passion for change. King is mainly remembered due to his inspirational speeches ‘I Have a Dream’ for example, which he presented during the civil rights march on 1963, Washington of August. In which, he gained respect and admiration from people of...